Malpua is a sweet pancake-style treat that’s popular throughout Bangladesh and India. Malpua is often served as a tasty dessert, a sweet snack, and during festivals like Diwali and Holi. There are many regional variations of this dish, but it’s commonly served with a rose-flavored syrup or with rabri, which is a sweetened condensed milk.

Ingredients

Malpua

Serves 4

1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon (2 g) fennel seeds, whole

⅓ teaspoon (0.7 g) ground cardamom

2 tablespoon (28 g) sugar

3 tablespoons (23 g) whole milk powder

½ cup (118 ml) water

3 tablespoons (46 g) yogurt

⅛ teaspoon (0.6 g) baking soda

3 tablespoons (45 ml) ghee, for frying

Rabri

2 tablespoons (16 g) almonds

2 tablespoons (16 g) pistachios

Water, for blanching

5 cups (1.18 L) milk

3 tablespoons (42 g) sugar

6 green cardamom seeds, whole

8 saffron strands

Rose Syrup

8 saffron strands

1¾ cups (411 ml) hot water

2 cups (450 g) sugar

5 cardamom pods

1 teaspoon (5 ml) rose essence

Steps

Part 1

Making the Rabri

1

Blanch the nuts. Fill a small saucepan with water. Bring the water to a boil over medium heat. When the water is boiling, add the almonds and pistachios. Let the nuts boil for one minute. After a minute, remove the saucepan from the heat and drain them in a colander.[1]

Rinse the nuts under cold water.

2

Peel and chop the nuts. When the nuts are cool to the touch, pinch each nut gently between your fingers to peel off the skin. Discard the skin. Use a sharp knife to slice the nuts into slivers.

Thicken the milk. Pour the milk into a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Turn the heat to high and bring the milk to a boil. When the milk starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and continue simmering. Stir every four minutes to push the layer of bubbles and film to the side of the pot and scrape the sides.

Continue simmering and stirring the milk for about 90 minutes, until the milk reduces by half and thickens.[3]

4

Add the sugar and nuts. Stir the mixture to incorporate the sugar and nuts into the milk. Keep cooking the milk for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the milk reduces to a third of the original quantity.

5

Add the cardamom and cool. When the milk is thick and sweet, add the cardamom and saffron to the mixture. Stir to incorporate the spices. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the rabri to cool for at least an hour. Transfer the mixture to the refrigerator to chill.

You can use nutmeg to flavor the milk instead of cardamom if you like.

You can also add a teaspoon (5 ml) of rose essence to the rabri if you want.[4]

Part 2

Making and Frying the Malpua

1

Combine the dry ingredients. Pour the flour, fennel seeds, cardamom, sugar, and whole milk powder into a medium mixing bowl. Reserve the baking soda for later. Whisk the ingredients together well to fully combine them.[5]

You can use three to four whole cardamom seeds in place of the ground cardamom. To use the whole seeds, chop them finely before adding them to the dry ingredients.

You can also use khoya in place of the whole milk powder. Khoya is a thick, dried milk product that you can find in Indian or Asian markets. Add the khoya with the wet ingredients instead of the dry.

2

Add the wet ingredients. Pour the yogurt and the water into the bowl with the dry ingredients. If you're using khoya instead of milk powder, add the khoya now as well. Whisk all the ingredients together until it forms a thick, smooth batter.[6]

Unlike North American pancakes, you don’t want any lumps in the malpua batter.

3

Rest the batter. Once all the ingredients are combined and you have a smooth malpua batter, cover the bowl with a clean towel and set it aside for 30 minutes. Leave it on the counter or somewhere else at room temperature.[7]

Resting the batter will give the flour time to absorb liquid, and improve the final texture of the malpua.

4

Heat the ghee and add the baking soda to the batter. Pour the ghee into a large heavy bottomed frying pan or skillet. Turn the heat to medium and leave the ghee to preheat for three to four minutes. While it’s heating up, add the baking powder to the batter and whisk it in.

You can use any cooking oil in place of the ghee. Good oils for frying include canola and vegetable.

5

Fry the malpua. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Pour 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of batter into the hot ghee. Spread the batter out with the back of a ladle or spoon. If there's room in the pan, add more batter to cook a second malpua. Cook the malpua for two to three minutes. Flip the malpua with a spatula and cook for another two to three minutes, until it’s golden brown on both sides.[8]

When the malpua is ready, remove it from the pan.

Add more ghee if necessary, and continue frying the malpua one or two at a time until all the batter is gone.

6

Drain the excess oil. Line a wire cooling rack with a clean lint-free towel or several sheets of paper towels. Use tongs or a spatula to transfer the malpua to the towel to absorb excess oil.[9]

Leave the malpua to drain for at least a minute before transferring it to the syrup.

Part 3

Serving Malpua with Rose Syrup and Rabri

1

Soak the saffron. In a small bowl, combine the hot water and saffron threads. Let the saffron soak for at least five minutes, and as many as 20 if you have the time. This will give the saffron time to infuse the water with its subtle flavor.[10]

2

Heat the sugar and water. Combine the sugar and saffron water in a medium saucepan. Turn the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer the sugar and water mixture for about 10 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has formed a thick syrup.

As the mixture is cooking, stir regularly as the sugar melts to avoid burning.

3

Reduce the heat and add the remaining flavorings. When the syrup is thick and hot, whisk in the rose essence.[11] Add the cardamom seeds and stir the mixture to distribute the seeds. Turn the heat to low.

Leave the syrup on the heat so it stays warm.

4

Soak the cooked malpua. Place as many cooked malpua into the syrup as you can fit. Make sure the malpua are completely covered by the syrup. You may have to soak them in batches. Soak the malpua in the syrup for about 10 minutes.[12]

After soaking, remove the malpua from the syrup with tongs. Transfer the malpua to a wire cooling rack with a plate underneath to catch excess syrup.

Transfer the next batch of cooked malpua to the syrup for soaking.

5

Serve the malpua hot with rabri. When the soaked malpua are still hot, transfer them to individual plates for serving. Spoon some chilled rabri on top of each malpua, or place the rabri on the side for dipping. If you like, you can also garnish the malpua with chopped nuts, dried fruit, and other toppings.[13]

To make a malpua, pour the flour, fennel seeds, cardamom, sugar, and whole milk powder into a mixing bowl and whisk the ingredients together. Next, add yogurt and water to the dry ingredients and stir until you have a thick, smooth batter. Then, cover the bowl with a towel and set it aside for 30 minutes. After the batter rests, heat ghee in a large frying pan. Right before you cook the malpua, add baking powder to the batter and whisk it in. Then fry the malpua for a few minutes on each side. For tips on how to serve the malpua with rose syrup and rabri, keep reading!